Cash Back Schemes

Cash-back prizes often require you to reach a certain spending point before you can cash your points for cash. Or, you may not get back a fraction of each dollar you spend until you reach a certain level. Even if they don't give you a penny for a point, at least you'll always know the full value of what you're receiving. It really isn't a lot of money for the amount of spending required to "earn" it, but its cash.

Gift card prizes can be the best deal if you get a gift card for a merchant that you normally shop with. Save points for large denomination gift cards; low-value cards typically cost more on a per-point basis. For instance, a $10 gift card may cost 1500 points, but a $100 gift card may be 10,000 points. Evaluate the different denominations with your card issuer, and delay redeeming your points until you've reached the level where you won't be losing by redeeming too few points at a time.

Merchandise prizes are fun; you can occasionally pamper yourself with some of the luxuries you may not have bought outright. But before en-cashing your rewards points for merchandise, check around to see what the items are really worth. You'll often pay a payment for the merchandise; I checked directly with the merchants online for some of the items that my card's rewards program offered. Some examples:

ADIDAS Tour 360 II Golf Shoes cost 23,000 points but retails for $180,
and many dealers now have them on sale for $120.
Razor RipStik costs 15,500 points but sells for only $75 at most
retailers.
Beer of the Month quarterly subscription looks like a $125 value at 12,500
points, but actually sells for $99 at the company's website.
The Fossil Classic Watch, retailing at about $115 was actually a
good deal at 7750 points, equivalent to $77.50 in rewards points.

Travel incentives may offer a good value on a per-point or per-mile basis, but they can also be difficult to use. Before en-cashing your points on travel discounts, check on blackout dates, fees to book your travel, and other restrictions that may complicate your travel plans.
Charity contributions don't give much bang for your points. You won't be able to remove the amount of the donation on your taxes because the donation will be made by your card issuer, and not in your name. If you list your deductions, you would be better off if you used a cash-back rewards card, donate the cash reward, and take your charitable contribution deduction.

One or many rewards card
Look into point cards that offers bonus points; some cards give you 2-5 points on purchases that qualify for bonus points and then one point for everything else. You can actually rack up points by using a couple of different rewards cards based on the types of purchases you make most, and then use the card that gives you the biggest benefit for any given purchase.

Setup a credit card processing merchant accounts to accept credit cards today!